DataStax Launches New Cloud Service to Spur Rapid Web3 Innovation

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – February 8, 2023 – DataStax, the real-time AI company, today announced the launch of Astra Block, a new service delivered within the Astra DB cloud database that empowers developers to quickly build and scale Web3 applications fueled by the entire, real-time dataset from the Ethereum blockchain. With Astra Block, developers can stream enhanced data from the industry’s dominant blockchain in a matter of minutes, then scale Web3 experiences virtually infinitely on Astra DB -- the serverless cloud database built on the open source Apache Cassandra® database. 

Astra Block is making the previously daunting task of cloning the entire blockchain dataset possible with the click of a button, leveraging the real-time speed, massive scale, and zero downtime provided by Cassandra. The new service allows advanced querying and real-time analytics to be run at sub-second speeds, enabling developers to build new blockchain-based functionality into their applications. For example, developers can build applications with the capability to analyze any transaction from the entire blockchain history, including crypto or NFTs, for instant, accurate insights. Astra Block uses CDC for Astra DB and Astra Streaming features to ensure that the clone of the chain is updated in real time, as new blocks are mined. 

“Blockchains are changing the way information is stored and used, but their potential is largely unrealized,” said Ed Anuff, chief product officer at DataStax. “These distributed ledgers open up a whole new world of innovation similar to what we saw with digital content 20 years ago or social media 15 years ago - that is, the possibilities are only limited by our imaginations. Crypto currencies, non-fungible tokens, and smart contracts have drawn a lot of attention, but there are many other areas that will benefit from blockchain innovation—healthcare, real estate, IoT, cybersecurity, music, identity management, and logistics, to name a few. We are incredibly excited to launch the Astra Block service that will give Web3 developers the power to quickly build, experiment and scale blockchain-powered applications - and deliver on the potential of Web3.”

Enterprise adoption of blockchain technology continues to accelerate. According to Gartner, “By 2024, 25% of enterprises will interact with their customers or partners using decentralized Web3 applications.” 

Yet, developers have struggled to easily access this data, having to resort to hundreds of API connections, building their own indexer, and manually managing the data infrastructure.  Moreover, the ability to easily analyze and track blockchain transactions is difficult, making many use cases untenable. Astra Block is designed to streamline and transform the process of building and scaling Web3 applications using massive blockchain datasets.

“With DataStax we are able to store and analyze big data sets rapidly to meet our analytics requirements without the burden of managing infrastructure or writing in-house ETL pipelines,” said Elie Hamouche, founder, Clearhash. “Astra DB with Astra Block removes much of the complexity that comes with collecting and storing unbounded blockchain datasets to power real-time analytics workload.”

Availability 

Accessing the Astra Block service is simple and available through the free tier of Astra DB, which offers a 20GB partial blockchain dataset to get started. The paid tier of Astra DB gives developers the ability to clone the entire blockchain, which is then updated in real-time as new blocks are mined. DataStax plans to expand this Astra Block to other blockchains in the future, based on user demand.

To create an Astra DB account and begin accessing the power of Ethereum blockchain data with one click, visit here.  

Additional Resources

• Learn more about Astra Block
• See Astra Block in action
• Learn more about Web3
• What is Astra Block?
• What is Ethereum?
• What is Blockchain Technology?
• Web2 vs. Web3 Explained
• What is Web3?
• What is Web3.js?

About DataStax

DataStax is the real-time AI company. With DataStax, any enterprise can mobilize real-time data and quickly build smart, high-growth applications at unlimited scale, on any cloud. DataStax delivers the Astra DB cloud database built on Apache Cassandra® and the Astra Streaming event streaming technology built on Apache Pulsar™. Hundreds of the world’s leading enterprises, including Audi, ESL Gaming and many more rely on DataStax to unleash the power of real-time data to win new markets and change industries. Learn more at DataStax.com.

© 2023 DataStax Inc., All Rights Reserved. DataStax is a registered trademark of DataStax, Inc. and its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries.  Apache, Apache Cassandra and Cassandraare either registered trademarks or trademarks of the Apache Software Foundation or its subsidiaries in Canada, the United States, and/or other countries. 

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission.